“let me guess...retired govt worker with a nice fat pension?.....”
That’s funny. Retired HP engineer who had a stay at home disabled wife. Let me give you a hint... Only bought one new car in my life, and that was before I got married. Funny what saving will do for your net worth.
My brother has done likewise....though he has no intentions of retiring until he can’t work...he loves his job. But he too buys used vehicles and lives far less than his means could provide him. He enjoys saving his money and his wife is thrifty as well.
BTW I know a gal who has lived below the poverty level most of her life with no outside aid....not only is she surviving but she has no debt. She says she lives within her means and that is the secret to being independant and without debt.
I honestly don’t know how she does it when you hear so many complaining who are on the welfare rolls...here this gal works at her job daily...gets her paycheck at weeks end and somehow makes it work. Really quite amazing.
That is the secret.
Do it, and one day you will wake up realizing you matched your (probably six figure, by then, income) before you got out of bed.